Age-Specific Dynamics of Chronic Disease Rates among Shipbuilding Workers

Introduction: Working conditions in shipbuilding and ship repair are notorious for intense exposure to a whole range of occupational risk factors. To assess their health impact, it is expedient to use a method for assessing the age-specific dynamics of chronic disease risk based on the annual risk increment.

Objective: To assess the dynamics of chronic disease accumulation with age in workers of different occupational groups at shipbuilding facilities.

Materials and Methods: We used the results of a medical examination of 1,638 men and women employed at five shipbuilding and ship repair facilities in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region divided into two occupational groups: blue-collar workers and managers. Working conditions were assessed based on the officially published results of a special assessment of working conditions at these facilities for 2022–2025. Statistical data analysis was performed using SPSS 11.5 and Microsoft Excel 2010.

Results: Our analysis of the findings of the special assessment of working conditions revealed persistently high levels of occupational hazards, including noise, chemical pollution, and heavy physical work, all posing health risks to shipwrights. Periodic medical examinations showed a predominance of diseases of the circulatory system (22 %), primarily arterial hypertension, and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (13 %), which requires increased attention to at-risk workers.

Conclusion: Working conditions of ship fitters, assemblers, woodcutters, and other core personnel are of hazard levels 2 to 3. The assessment of age-specific disease burden using the annual risk increment criterion revealed an accelerated accumulation of chronic conditions in production department managers compared to blue-collar workers. The findings will be used to develop preventive measures aimed at maintaining health and longevity of shipbuilding and ship repair workers.

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